Automotive Heater Core

ABSTRACT

This invention involves a type of automotive heater core, including upper tank ( 3 ), bottom tank ( 8 ), inlet pipe ( 1 ), outlet pipe ( 2 ), header ( 4 ), side plate ( 5 ), cooling fins ( 7 ) and tubes ( 6 ), said header ( 4 ) has clinching tabs ( 4.1 ) around the headers connecting to the upper tank ( 3 ) and to the bottom tank ( 8 ); said side plates ( 5 ) have two button protuberances ( 5.1 ) or retaining tabs at both ends of the side plates ( 5 ) where the cooling fins ( 7 ) end; said header ( 4 ) has clinching tabs ( 4.2 ) located at the center of the minor dimension of the headers ( 4 ) and the center of the ends of the side plates ( 5 ). This heater core has firm bonding between tank and header, header and side plate, and is free from the partial melting, burning and dropping of the cooling fins.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application No. 200810018985.5 filed on Jan. 30, 2008, which application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention involves an automotive heater core, it belongs to the field of auto parts technology.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An automotive heater core is a radiator dissipating heat into the car cabin using cooling water from the engine, it includes: inlet pipe, outlet pipe, upper tank, bottom tank, header, tube, cooling fins and side plate. The shortages of old art are:

-   -   1. Brazing between the header and tank is not firm, which causes         leak and failure of a heater core     -   2. During the brazing process, as the materials used for cooling         fins and header plate are different, they require different         temperature of brazing, thus the cooling fins are often melted         where they contact the header, which affects negatively the         effective cooling area and the appearance and quality of the         products, and often the cooling fins drop out during brazing.     -   3. Old art seeks to secure the side plates to the header by         brazing the cooling fins to the side plates so as to prevent the         cooling fins from damage and to strengthen the overall         structure. This old art makes the connection between the side         plates and the header not secure and firm enough, which causes         the comparatively low overall angular rigidity of the automotive         heater core, and the cooling fins are not well protected from         damages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of this invention is to overcome the above shortages, and to provide a type of heater core which has firm bonding firm bonding between tank and header, header and side plate, and is free from the partial melting, burning and dropping of the cooling fins.

The purpose is achieved through below:

The header (4) has clinching tabs (4.1) around the headers connecting to the upper tank (3) and to the bottom tank (8); the clinching tabs are clamped to the edges of the upper and bottom tanks.

The side plates (5) have two button protuberances (5.1) or retaining tabs (5.2) at both ends of the side plates (5) where the cooling fins (7) end; The header (4) has clinching tabs (4.2) located at the center of the minor dimension of the headers (4) and the center of the ends of the side plates (5) The clinching tabs are clamped to the center of the ends of the side plates. The above designs have the advantages as below:

1. The clamping of clinching tabs to the edges of the tanks structurally ensures the mechanical strength of the connection between the header to the upper tank and to the bottom tank. It ensures a good brazing and firm bonding between the tanks and the header.

2. By adding the button protuberances or the retaining tabs, the cooling fins are kept from touching the header and the friction between the cooling fins and side plates is increased so that partial melting, burning out and dropping of the cooling fins are prevented to ensure brazing quality.

3. By using the clamped structure of clinching tabs between the header and side plate, the connection is firmer and the overall angular rigidity of the automotive heater core is enhanced, thus the cooling fins are better protected from damage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of the automotive heater core involved in this invention

FIG. 2 is the breakdown of the binding by the clinching tabs between the upper tank and the header of the automotive heater core after clamping

FIG. 3 is the breakdown of the binding by the clinching tabs between the bottom tank and the header of the automotive heater core after clamping

FIG. 4 is the section view of the breakdown of the bottom tank and the header of the automotive heater core before clamping

FIG. 5 is the section view of the breakdown of the upper tank and the header of the automotive heater core before clamping

FIG. 6 is the section view of assembly of the bottom tank and header of the automotive heater core after clamping of the clinching tabs.

FIG. 7 is the section view of assembly of the upper tank and header of the automotive heater core after clamping of the clinching tabs.

FIG. 8 shows the two button protuberances at both ends of the side plates of the automotive heater core

FIG. 9 shows the positioning of the 2 button protuberances on the side plates of the automotive heater core where the cooling fins end.

FIG. 10 is the breakdown of the positioning of the 2 button protuberances on the side plates of the automotive heater core where the cooling fins end.

FIG. 11 shows the positioning of the 2 retaining tabs on the side plates of the automotive heater core where the cooling fins end.

FIG. 12 is the breakdown of the positioning of the 2 retaining tabs on the side plates of the automotive heater core where the cooling fins end.

FIG. 13 shows the structure of the involved header and the side plate of the automotive heater core before the clinching tabs being clamped

FIG. 14 is the breakdown drawing which shows the structure of the involved header and the side plate of the automotive heater core before the clinching tabs being clamped

FIG. 15 shows the overall appearance of the automotive heater core using the clinching tabs between the header and side plate

In the drawings: inlet pipe 1, outlet pipe 2, upper tank 3, header 4, side plate 5, tube 6, cooling fins 7, bottom tank 8, tank edges 3.1, clinching tabs 4.1, clinching tabs 4.2, button protuberances 5.1, retaining tabs 5.2.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In reference to FIG. 1, an automotive heater core includes eight parts: inlet pipe 1, outlet pipe 2, upper tank 3, bottom tank 8, header 4, tube 6, cooling fins 7 and side plate 5. Said header (4) has clinching tabs (4.1) around the headers connecting to the upper tank (3) and to the bottom tank (8) as shown in FIG. 2, 3, 4, 5. When assembling said clinching tabs 4.1 are clamped to the edges 3.1 of the upper 3 and bottom tanks 8 for brazing, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. This type of clamping can be applied to the connection of header and tank of all heater cores and radiators for heavy duty applications.

Said side plates (5) have two button protuberances (5.1) or retaining tabs (5.2) at both ends of the side plates (5) where the cooling fins (7) end as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11, 12 (in FIGS. 8, 9, 10 there are 2 button protuberances 5.1 at each end of the side plates, in FIGS. 11, 12 there are 2 retaining tabs 5.2 at each end of the side plates.)

Said header (4) has clinching tabs (4.2) located at the center of the minor dimension of the headers (4) and the center of the ends of the side plates (5) as shown in FIGS. 13, 14. When assembling the clinching tabs (4.2) are clamped to the center of the ends of the side plates (5) so that the binding between side plate (5) and header (4) is secured, as shown in FIG. 15 

1. A heater core comprising: an upper tank, a bottom tank, a inlet pipe, a outlet pipe, a header, a side plate, cooling fins and tubes, the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are positioned on the left and right sides of the upper tank, the tubes are positioned below the upper tank, the header is placed between the upper tank and the tubes; each header has clinching tabs around the border thereof connecting to the upper tank or to the bottom tank for holding the upper tank, bottom tank and headers together; each side plate has two button protuberances or retaining tabs at both ends thereof where the ends of cooling fins are to keep the cooling fins from touching the header and to increase the friction between the cooling fins and side plates; each header has clinching tabs located at the center of the minor side of the header and the center of the ends of the side plates for clamping the side plates. 